How do I know I’m getting a good real estate deal?

When buying a home, the perfect home may be a dream, but there are some things to look for to know whether or not you’ve made or are going to make a good purchase. Check out these 4 things when looking for a house to know you’ve got a great deal.

#1. Price.

Price is the number one factor when determining a deal. Regardless of what the home looks like, if it is priced correctly for its condition, location and size, you know whether or not is overpriced or underpriced or at market value. If you are unsure, your real estate agent should be able to tell you whether or not it is priced correctly. An amateur real estate agent, one that does it part-time, or a brand-new agent, may not know whether or not a home is priced correctly. Agents that are very familiar with local communities, neighborhoods, and subdivisions will be able to tell you if the home is priced correctly, overpriced or under market value. Once you know your price range in which to search, your real estate agent should be able to present you with homes within that price range and pick out those that are a good deal.

#2. Features.

A good deal has to have the features that you are looking for in a home. It might be priced correctly but if the home does not offer the features you are looking for, it’s not a good deal to you. Coupling the price with the features that you want naturally are the components that make up a good deal. If the home has the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms that you are looking for, features such as an open design, backyard, or the letters that you want and it’s priced correctly, you’re probably getting a good deal for you.

#3. Condition.

There were two similar homes within the same neighborhood priced $40,000 different from each other. The higher-priced house had a few extra landscaping features but the size, condition, and location were all fairly the same. The home priced $40,000 less sold within a week. If the same buyer were looking at homes, naturally the lower priced home would’ve been the better deal.

Condition means the state of repairs that the home needs. There’s usually fixer-upper, fair, average, good, and excellent conditions. Excellent conditions would be primarily for new construction homes or brand-new remodels. Many homes are in good condition so other factors would need to play a role as to whether or not it’s a good deal. If the home is fair or is in a fixer situation, the home would need to be priced adequately for it to be a good deal and then again, the buyer would need to want this type of home as well.

#4. Location.

We’ve always heard the phrase location, location, location. But this really is true when looking for a good deal. Are you looking for a home in the neighborhood with a community, gated subdivision, a view, waterfront or oceanfront, close proximity to work or schools? All of these location factors will play a role in conjunction with condition, price and features. If the location works with the price and it’s in the condition you want with the features you need, you obviously are getting a good deal.

For more details on getting a good deal in Sunset Beach and surrounding communities and oceanfront towns in North Carolina give us a call today.

If 2017 is going to be your year to buy a house, whether it’s your first home or you are a repeat buyer, you can start to get your finances in order now so that when it does come time to buy you ready to go.

We want all of our buyers to be comfortable when they purchase their home. Being stressed, over budget, and nervous about finances is not a good way to enter homeownership. There are three main things that potential homebuyers need to concern themselves with if they’re planning on buying this year.

#1. Understanding and getting a good grasp on their credit history and report.

Order a copy of your credit history and report from one of the three major credit reporting agencies, Experian, Trans Union, or Equifax. You can also get a copy through your local bank. Any of these reports will be very similar so you want to look for errors, mistakes, outstanding balances, collection notices, or anything that looks out of the ordinary. Clean up your credit history and report the best you can, which could take a month or two depending on the errors or issues therein. Try to increase your credit score to at least 680 by paying your bills on time, paying off debt but leaving available credit on credit card so that it shows you have additional credit available, and paying down as much debt as possible.

#2. Save a little bit of money.

You will need an earnest money deposit and a down payment as well as inspection costs when purchasing a house. If you are a repeat buyer you might be able to use the equity when you sell your existing home and turn around and put it as the down payment to your new house but if this is your first time buying you’ll need a substantial down payment. FHA loans require 3.5% down and conventional loans need at least 10%. Talk to your lender about the different options when it comes to loans. An earnest money deposit is typically 1% to 3% of the purchase price of the house so you want this in liquid cash in order to hold the offer on the house. You also need money for the home inspection, which can range anywhere from $300-$800 depending on the type of inspection and the inspection agency.

#3. Try to stay calm and patient.

Finding the best house for your needs and your budget may have been in a day or it might happen over the next six months. By preparing now you’ll be ready to jump on the right house when it hits the market. Make sure you know what you want in a house, have your debt to income ratio below 43% and try to stay unemotional during the negotiation process.

Again, we want your home buying experience to be as stress-free and easy as possible, so by doing just these simple things you could be light years ahead of your competition. Call us today to get started or browse listings on our website for free.

The weather is perfect is a great time to be browsing open houses and touring neighborhoods. However, if you are there are some serious red flags on the home you should know about when looking at these open houses.

#1. Multiple homes for sale in the neighborhood.

If more than 20% of the homes in the neighborhood are for sale, there may be a reason why. It might not be coincidence. Neighbors may know of large construction coming in, problems in the area or bad schools. Talk to the neighbors and find out what’s going on and why so many homes are for sale.

#2. Strange odors.

If you walk in a home and there’s an odor you can’t quite put your on, it could be something hazardous or toxic. If homes have basements make sure they don’t smell musty or molding. This could be a sign of some serious water damage.

#3. Off-limits rooms.

If you’re touring at an open house and a couple of the rooms are unavailable, this could be a problem. If you can’t see all of the rooms you certainly don’t want to get involved in the sale. Ask why a room is off-limits as it could be something as simple as conserving heating or cooling or even just some storage. However, make sure you ask about it and verify it if you are considering buying the house.

#4. Recent renovations.

Homeowners are known for making some quick renovations to make their home more appealing but fast work could come at a price to you. If they’ve cut corners, used cheap materials or did the work without a building permit, you could be up a creek once you own the house.

#5. Peeling paint or holes.

Rot, moisture or old paint can cause numerous problems in the house so you want to make sure that the paint is fresh, not peeling, old, bubbling or stained in certain areas.

#6. Odd additions.

There are renovations and remodels that can leave a home looking like it’s missing certain puzzle pieces. If the home has some odd additions it may actually lower the value instead of increasing it. Ask the listing agent when the additions were created and if the proper permits were acquired.

#7. Bad neighbors.

Take a look at the rest of the neighborhood when touring an open house. Are the neighbors yelling at each other or their kids? Do they take care of their front lawns and curb appeal? Are there numerous junk cars in the front lawn? All of these could give you an insight as to what your neighbors might be like. If everything looks perfect, do a drive-by of the neighborhood when there is no open house and see if things are as well put together.

Armed with these simple things you can make the most of your open house tour. Need a list of all of the open houses coming up this weekend? Contact me below and let’s get started.

When purchasing a home and thinking about budgeting and costs of a home buyers will usually calculate the cost of the loan/monthly mortgage payments, down payment, and maybe even the closing costs. All too often home buyers,more often first time buyers,neglect to add changes in monthly bills and maintenance costs into the purchase of a new home.

If you are smart and meticulous with your finances you may have calculated the cost of monthly utilities into the price of owning a new home. After all it is widely known that a homeowner is responsible for their own utility and garbage costs. Home owners moving to a new part of the nation or even from the city to the wide open spaces of the country may not have thought about extra expenses of moving to these places reflected in monthly bills. If you move from the west coast where central gas or electric heat is the norm to the east coast you may be shocked to find more expenses in heating a cooling bills with more severe climate changes during the seasons. If you are moving from the city to the country you may find yourself paying more for well maintenance, propane tank fill ups, and septic services.

When things around the home go into disrepair they are now your responsibility to fix. There can be a number of maintenance costs that come with home ownership from routine replacement of older parts to emergency fixes of busted pipes. It is a good idea when you are thinking of purchasing a home to set aside a fund for these needed repairs so you can stay on top of home maintenance and keep your home in its best working condition.

One way to save money in the purchase of your home to add to a maintenance fund would be to ask for credits on your loan instead of a lower purchase price. Many lenders will allow a credit back from the seller up to 6 percent which lowers the amount of closing costs the buyer needs to bring to the table. This money can be set aside for a rainy day or home maintenance fund.

A smart idea to help get an idea and form a home maintenance plan is during the home inspection. An inspection does not need to be solely for the purpose of finding any underlying problems in the home. Take the time to learn about the different systems inside the home that keep it running and what each of them need for proper care and maintenance and how much those things cost from your inspector.

Maintenance is a huge part of home ownership. Make sure to have a plan in action of how you will maintain your new dream investment.Many home buyers have made the mistake of not budgeting for home repairs and routine maintenance needs. Home ownership isn’t fun when you cant afford to take care of your home.

What our clients say

Jessica Lowery

I love working with Karen and Frank. They are honest, not pushy, and have your best interest in mind. They...

2015-05-12T20:51:52+00:00

I love working with Karen and Frank. They are honest, not pushy, and have your best interest in mind. They will also make you laugh! :) Love these two!!!

http://sunsetbeachandbeyond.com/testimonials/jessica-lowery/

Steve & Jean DeVito

“The Bakers treated us like family during our whirlwind weekend of looking at houses. Prior to our on-site visit to...

2015-03-16T20:17:46+00:00

“The Bakers treated us like family during our whirlwind weekend of looking at houses. Prior to our on-site visit to Sunset Beach they created a portal and populated it with properties that met our ever-evolving criteria. By time we arrived we had a good feel for what we could afford and what was available that met our criteria. The Bakers, especially Karen, were able to make sense of what we thought we were looking for and eventually matched us with a house that we ended up purchasing — Karen called it the “This is it” house and she was right. We are loving our 2nd home and appreciate how painless Karen and Frank made the process. All the paperwork was done seamlessly and quickly and the closing went off without a hitch. The Bakers do not believe in the hard sell — they gave us the knowledge we needed and the guidance we needed to make our dream a reality.”

http://sunsetbeachandbeyond.com/testimonials/steve-jean-devito/

Matt & Amy Carver

Amy and I have bought and sold four properties in the past twelve years. Both of you are the best...

2015-03-16T20:18:22+00:00

Amy and I have bought and sold four properties in the past twelve years. Both of you are the best realtors we have ever dealt with. Amy and I both felt we could trust you to look out for our interest. The level of service you provided was outstanding, from taking the trash out, helping the buyer with inspecting the irrigation system, dealing with our tenants, always being there if we needed to ask a question, providing constant updates on the market and always keeping us informed on the sale of our house. I think your next venture should be training other realtors, because both of you have mastered the art of providing excellent service. I will be sure to recommend the Frank and Karen team to anybody looking for a trust worthy, knowledgeable and top performing realtor. It was a pleasure working with both of you.”

http://sunsetbeachandbeyond.com/testimonials/matt-amy-carver/

Ernie & Carol G.

“Karen & Frank Baker are the best. They are very knowledgeable with the area & showed us many homes. When...

2015-03-16T20:18:50+00:00

“Karen & Frank Baker are the best. They are very knowledgeable with the area & showed us many homes. When we made up our minds which one we wanted, they got us the best deal on it. We were very satisfided with them. After the purchased was made & we moved in, they were still there to answer any questions or problems that we might of had. Like I said, they are the BEST.”

http://sunsetbeachandbeyond.com/testimonials/ernie-carol-g/

Dave & Rose

“Thanks again for all the time you spent with us, As overwhelming as it was, you two made it fun”

2015-03-16T20:19:23+00:00

“Thanks again for all the time you spent with us, As overwhelming as it was, you two made it fun”